Persuasion and Regret
by Drown The Ants
Summary: Hermione Granger is missing. Draco is unsure how to react to this, and what he should do. Meanwhile, his mother is telling him that he should hurry up and get married- preferably to Astora, whom he can't stand. When Draco is persuaded to go look for the missing muggleborn- what feelings will show themselves. Ron bashing. T to be safe


I haven't worked on a story in a while... much less a non one shot. So update will be kind of slow- I don't force myself to write- and if there is any mistakes in grammer or spelling, I'd appreciate it if I was told :) Anyways, I know this plot has been done before, but I hope it is different from others that have been written. I have not read one like this before, and if I had, I don't remember. If anything in this story sounds similar to something in another story, I did not intend to steal it.

Disclaimer: I don't own harry potter. Sadly. If I did, it would have taken me yearsssssssss and yearssssss to finish it. Cuz... I'm a slow writer.

* * *

Draco sipped his tea, as he read the headlines of the Daily Prophet. Surrounding him was a few house elves, infuriating portraits who never stopped complaining, and an office that made it obvious that he was wealthy. Of course, Draco was used to this sort of atmosphere. The Pureblood was raised in it. Some say it wasn't good for a child to be raised like that –it gave a child an spoiled brat attitude- and Draco secretly, though reluctantly, agreed. Looking back at his Hogwarts Days, it always made him shudder.

Frowning, he sat down the thick newspaper. The recent event gave the reporters plenty to talk about- and for once, it was the truth. At least, some of the truth was told. All because the truth of the Golden Trio's life was enough drama without adding lies to it. He tapped his foot once, then twice. A quill twirled between his fingers, carefully avoiding the sharp point. His wrinkled brow showed that he was tentative how to take this news. Should he care about this? Should he even give it a second thought? Or should he make it seem like he cares, and pay a group of people to find this young woman?

The muggleborn has certainly made a name for herself. Even from day one, becoming friends with the Savior, The-boy-who-lived, etc., Hermione Grangers name was notorious. Then she was just known as 'Harry Potters Female Friend' (Something which Rita Skeeter took advantage of during fourth year), then it turned into 'The Brains of the Golden Trio'. Her popularity only increased, year by year. It took a jump after the defeat of the Dark Lord. When she started dating that Weasel-something Draco never understood. Everybody said they were perfect for each other. Anybody with the Weasel is disgusting, was his way of thinking. He was loud, obnoxious, and not even attractive.

Perhaps it was her place in the Golden Trio, and the successful imprisonment of several ex-Death Eaters that brought fuel to the fire, that led to her disappearance. Taken from her muggle apartment home. That brought a snort from Draco. Only Granger could be thoughtless enough to live in the Muggle World- it wasn't safe at all. No matter how many wards to placed, there were only so many you can place before the muggle inventions went haywire. The Light Side people were so stupid to think that the Purebloods were finished with their urge to erase all muggles and muggleborns. They were just temporally held back. Draco knew this because he had went to several secret meetings. Draco thought they were stubborn as mules- couldn't they _see_ that the effort was lost? The Wizarding World started slowly modernizing after the first defeat of the Dark Lord. The ideas of having pureblood was fading- and quickly. It was proven that too much inbreeding was affecting their lineage and ability to produce well-capable witches and wizards. Draco knew this and was preparing himself mentally for the change.

But he also knew another reason if they had taken the young woman. Granger was a beauty- her wild hair now was a bit tamed and her buckteeth were no longer there. Her curves was obvious even in her loose ugly business cloths. Her hair fell in delicate waves, with a bit of a bounce, down to her waist when she was in Diagon Alley with her friends and boyfriend, enjoying herself. Draco had observed her from a distance momentarily at times, and knew others did. Unknown to Granger, almost every male had dreamed at night with the beauty in bed with them. And it wasn't just her beauty that attracted men. It was her intelligence and knowing that she could take care of herself. Proper Pureblood men didn't want to constantly have to take care of their women. Granger could hold her own.

And there was always the fact that everyone knew she was untouchable while in Ronald Weasly's arms.

The Weasel was possessive of her. Wouldn't let her wear certain dresses to the Ministries Balls (Draco had overheard a conservation with Ginny, when Hermione was complaining about it), or even go to some places without him there. The Weasel didn't know that Hermione had grown up, and was a fierce lioness that didn't want to be tied down. Draco knew that sometime in the near future, she was going to break her leash and lash out to anyone who tried to tie her down again.

The Weasel also was trying to persuade her to settle down and have a kid or two. Or in his terms- a whole litter. He didn't want Hermione working; he wanted her to be a household wife. To always be there when he wanted, to make him meals when he was hungry. Draco scowled at that thought, and sipped his tea again. That was no way to treat a woman, the way he did. Yes, Draco was raised around the fact that women should be at home and be showed off, but Draco didn't agree with that view. You couldn't have a woman who didn't need to be taken care of and was intelligent, and expect her to stay at home. It just didn't work that way.

"Sir, would you like your breakfast?" The squeaky voice interrupted his thoughts, causing annoyance to stir within him. The House Elf detected the annoyance quickly-Draco got annoyed easily- , and his ears went back in fear. Draco bit back a sigh and spared the cowering creature a glance. "Why not, make sure that the eggs are cooked over easy." The House Elf just nodded and popped away. "Annoying Creatures," He muttered, throwing the quill across the room. In the process, he managed to cut himself, something he tried so hard to avoid. The House Elf popped back into the room, with a large breakfast and quickly disappeared. "Meyer!" Draco bellowed. The House Elf came back, shaking like a tree in a middle of a hurricane. "Fetch me skin repair potion _now_." Normally a small cut wouldn't bother him. But his emotions were such in a confusing bundle over Hermione Granger's disappearance.

* * *

It was so amusing to watch the public reaction to muggleborn's disappearance. The reporters were going crazy and practically trailing Potter and the Weasel. The Weasel was lashing out at everybody, while Potter was his typical noble self and politely walked away from them, dismissing the reporters. Rita Skeeter still followed him, but somehow Potter managed to get her off his tail. This shocked Draco, and made him wonder what Potter had over the woman.

Right now Draco was at a get together for the noble heirs. The Greengrass girls, Nott, Malfoy, Zabani was here. The four families knew each other closely by past arrangements. Although the Zabani and the Greengrass family was more of a neutral family (they only watched out for themselves) they had their interest in keeping their family pure. The Zabani's were less pureblood like however. The mother was famous for the death of her many husbands- all were rich, money left to her, and died mysteriously. Still, the ministry didn't do anything.

All of them were sipping their drinks- Draco had firewhiskey, the women had some goblin made wine, Nott too had firewhiskey, while Zabini opted for water. Their conversations went from how well the families were doing, to modern-day politics, to gossip as the alcohol took effect. And since some of the gossip consisted of Hermione Granger's kidnapping, the conversation soon fell to that. The Malfoy Heir hid his frown, and just drank more firewhiskey. The oldest Greengrass, Daphne, was eager to supply what she had heard, while her younger sister just put in occasional input. Malfoy had observed that both girls were spoiled-and acted like it most times-, the younger sister was more of a Slytherin by her sneaky and quiet actions.

"-some say that Granger isn't even kidnapped," Nott told them, an amused smile creeping across his face. "They are saying that she was cheating, got pregnant, and ran away." All of them just shook their head; all of them were in school with the muggleborn and knew she wasn't the type. "Those are just silly," Nott's future wife, Daphne, sneered, making her beauty scarred for a few seconds. "Everyone knows that Granger is Little Miss Perfect."

"She could have got tired of that Weasel," Draco supplied, with a cool air. "You can only put up with him for so long." Blaise chuckled, and waved a house elf over. "Granger seems to have a secret identity, you know," Blaise told them, sipping his new glass of water. "But not one that will encourage her to cheat on that poor excuse of a wizard."

"That little sidekick is horrible," and related comments filled the air, creating a wave of pleased emotions go through Draco. He knew already that nobody approved of the Weasel (for different reasons) but it did good to hear it occasionally. Astoria raised an eyebrow at his pleased look. "Draco," Her voice coming out in a smooth purr, "what have you so pleased? If it's our company, we have to do this more often. You are much too depressed and lonely nowadays." Forcing down a blush, Draco met the younger Greengrass deadly gaze.

"You know how much I despise the Weasel." That was all he said, but it seemed to satisfy the woman.

"Ah. From our Hogwarts days, and of course-let's not forget- the…. Ah… _Arguments_ between the Malfoy and Weasly family. "The other guests exchanged glances about the never-ending 'war' between the two pureblood families remark. Draco swished his firewhiskey around in the crystal glass, fixing the woman with a cold stare. As expected, Astoria winced visibly by his aggravated look. His temper was very infamous.

"Why, my dear Astoria, must you mention the rivalry between the Malfoys…. and the imperfect purebloods. Are you so determined to keep the memory of a mistake made by an ancestor of mine?" Daphne did not speak to defend her sister, but nor did she side with Malfoy. For once, the older beauty was silent.

"I must remind you that the Malfoy family isn't picture-perfect, Draco." Astoria grew a smirk, and tossed her auburn locks behind her left shoulder. "You are the one frolicking around like you have no faults. Must I remind the mistakes your family made during the Second War with the Dark Lord?" Everybody in the room except for Draco and Astoria seemed to hold their breath.

"Why am I being based on the mistakes of my family, not I?" Draco tilted his head, and blinked slowly at Astoria.

"What of yours, Malfoy? Taking the Dark Mark, trying to kill Dumbledore. Or do you count those as noble acts?" Nott stood up suddenly and announced he was going outside for some fresh air. Blaise followed him, but Daphne stayed. Malfoy scowled at Astoria, who just hit a low mark.

"You know as well as I do, I was threatened. You know fully well if I didn't, my family would be did." Draco downed his fire whiskey, mentally shuddering at the memory of being under the Dark Lords rule. He woke up every day then, surprised he was still alive. Especially after Potter's escape from the Malfoy Manor. Astoria just smiled coldly at him, and twirled her wine in the glass.

"No, there's a difference. Your family is full of cowards, and couldn't stand up to You-know-who in the first place," She said with an air of power. Astoria pretended that she was higher than everybody else. The Malfoy Heir wondered why she was being so bold at the moment-usually she sufficed with occasional snide comments. Draco stared at the crackling fire, noticing the house-elf quivered as she filled Astoria's wine glass. He resisted a smirk when he saw that the house elf quivered more around Astoria, than around Draco. So even house elves could see past the innocent, pretty exterior.

Draco turned to the Greengrass sisters again, and noticed that they took his silence as success. "You try to live with the fact," He started out slowly, his tone now cold and questioning. "That the Dark Lord lives in your house. You are at Hogwarts however, where every day you hear of another death. You fear that you mother had made the Dark Lord unhappy in anyway, and is now dead, or worse, under torture." Astoria's smirk slowly vanished, as she listened to him intently.

"You wish that you can be like Potter sometimes, when you get desperate," He continued, raising his glass to signal that he wanted a refill. "To be so noble, be so lucky to escape death every time, to be so naive. But while he lives away from the Dark Lord, and has protection, I don't. I was inside the circle of Death Eaters unwillingly. He read every owl I received and sent. He had spies placed to see if I was going behind his back." Draco frowned, and shook his head. He downed a swallow of the strong drink, hoping to get rid of some of the horrible memories. "My father was an idiot, I agree. But I was under that, paying for the mistakes _he_ made. To everyone, I enjoy my father's company. But in the Malfoy Household, every Malfoy knows that the bond that Lucius and I had before, is now gone." He turned his sharp gaze to the younger Greengrass again, and turned up his nose at her.

"So don't judge me until you actually try to get to know me." And with that last word, he stormed out of the living room of the Greengrass guest area. He gave a nod to some of the portraits he was fond of, then flooed out of the boring manor.

* * *

**THE BRAIN'S OF THE TRIO- STILL MISSING**

_It has been a week since the disappearance of Hermione Granger. With the ministry not telling us about any leads, many rumors are spreading across the Wizarding World, shocked that somebody bested the smartest witch of the century. Some have been saying the girl just ran away with a secret lover, not satisfied with her simple life. After all, all miss perfect can't not have any urges to do break rules. Did Granger give in-_

Draco snarled, and threw the newspaper across the room. Rita Skeeter was an abomination to the Wizarding World, with her lies. It was amazing that anybody could believe a single word breathed from that-

The blonde shook his head, deciding to try to calm down. It would do no good to appear at his parent's manor, angry. No doubt that the atmosphere will make him loose his cool, then it will just get a speech from his mother about how all proper purebloods kept their cool at all times. Draco would have commented about the Dark Lord and his anger issues, but ever since the defeat of the Dark Lord, the fact of the Dark Lord being a half-blood was well-known.

Getting up, he brushed off his cloths. The argument with Astoria was still on his mind- even after a week and a half. Draco knew that people thought of him as a coward and a pompous man (Which he used to be, he'd admit only to himself), and stuck to the person he was. War changed people, but somehow, they thought that he was an exception. Draco didn't want to side with the Dark Lord.

Throwing a handful of Floo Powder, he hesitated before stepping into the fireplace. He didn't feel like visiting his emotional mother, but he had promised. And Draco didn't break his promises, no matter how much he hated it. He took a long stride into the fire place and spoke in a clear voice, "Malfoy Manor!" His world twisted, and resisted the urge to cough. He hated this form of traveling, but was better than apparating.

Stepping out of the marble fireplace skillfully, Draco glanced around the manor. This used to be his home. He used to admire the rich exterior, and interior, and the artifacts that the Malfoy family has gathered over the years. Now he hated the home, but had a soft spot for the artifacts. No matter how many times Draco tried, he couldn't get over the obsession of expensive, rare objects. It was a sign of wealth- the ability to support himself without anybody's help.

"Draco!" His mother cried happily, seeing him standing in front of the fireplace. Narcissa stood in the doorway, her eyes rimmed faintly with red. With her husband in Azkaban and her sister dead, she was a very emotional woman in private. He stood in the same spot as Narcissa strode over to him. He accepted the embrace without complaint, but let go quickly. While he loved his mother, it wasn't like how it used to be. For some people, war brought people closer, it drew his mother and him farther apart.

"Mother. How are you doing?" He asked politely, still standing. His mother noticed, and frowned. "Draco, you know you are welcome here whenever you want. You don't have to wait for me to say you can sit down." He shifted just shifted his feet, and kept standing up.

"I'm feeling a bit….. Restless right now mother. I might go insane if I sit down." Narcissa nodded, and smiled knowingly.

"Is it Granger's disappearance? Many are in search of her, in hope that she might turn romantic interests to whomever who finds her." Draco resisted the urge to full-blown out laugh.

"Mother, I don't care about Granger in any way shape of form." Somehow, the words were hard to get out in a way, but just shrugged it off. It was true. Narcissa gave him a look.

"I know she's a mudblood, but you have to admit Draco, she is a talented witch." Draco frowned. Was she suggesting…? Narcissa seemed to follow his thoughts, and quickly added, "I mean by having her as an ally, silly. You have to keep the blood line pure. And speaking about that, you need to find a good wife soon." The Malfoy heir resisted a groan. He wasn't ready to settle down, and just help make babies. He didn't like children. They just made noise, eat, use the bathroom, and sleep. And destroy things.

"I don't want to get married at the moment." Narcissa frowned at his answer, flipped her hair back. "Draco, what about Astoria though? She's a great match." He gagged, and quickly shook his head.

"Are you insane? That woman is horrible! Just last week she accused me of being a coward."

"She told me about that," Narcissa started out slowly. "I must say, you treated her horribly." Draco turned around quickly and took a step towards her.

"So you believe her over your son? Should I say that she also said that the Malfoy family was only good for making mistakes? She is a cold-hearted bitch who needs a lesson." Narcissa's bottom lip trembled at the angry words her son was yelling-anything could set off her nowadays.

"Don't use that word in this household in this household Draco Malfoy!" She screamed, getting in his face too. Draco was tired of people telling him what to do. He was told to treat muggleborns and muggles like they were dogs, and that is wrong. He was told to take the Dark Mark, now nobody could bring themselves to talk to him. "It's just marriage! All you have to do is say the vows, get in bed with her at night to produce an heir, and keep up appearances in public!"

"Just because you and Lucius were lucky enough to actually care for each other, doesn't mean I will grow to care for her! And marriage isn't a little thing- what if I come across a woman that I care about, but can't marry because I have Astoria on my side?" Narcissa gave a cold laugh, all emotions that caused tears vanishing.

"Draco, you will never come across a woman who cares for you, and you care for her." Draco smirked and crossed his arms.

"What about a man?" Draco was perfectly straight; he only said those words to scare his mother. And it worked- her eyes went wide and blinked a few times. Portrait's around them gasped, and started talking excitedly. Even when being gay was common in the Wizarding World-it was more here accepted than in the muggle world- it was not looked upon if you did not produce a child. If you have a child, you could have a gay lover all you want. As long you have a child, increasing the Wizarding population which was low- especially after the war.

"If you are gay, or Bi, you are still marrying a pureblood woman of good blood and producing multiple children." It seemed like his mother believed his words, which humored him greatly. He knew that she wouldn't tell anybody if he didn't say otherwise- she didn't want to bring more bad looks upon the Malfoy family.

"I will marry who I want." Those were his only words before he flooed out of the Manor, leaving a troubled woman behind. Draco knew that Narcissa will now only try harder to get him to marry-even if he had to marry Astoria.

Well if it came down to that…. Astoria _did _have a great figure.

* * *

R&R


End file.
